In connection with emergency roadway use, it has heretofore been suggested that warning devices be provided that can be positioned on the roadway substantially in advance of a disabled vehicle to warn oncoming motorists. Such devices have generally taken the form of burning flares and retro-reflective reflectors.
It has been considered impractical for most motorists to use the burning flare type of advance warning signal due to the fact that many motorists are adverse to using this type of device.
Heretofore, the most commonly used type of advance warning device was a system comprising a flat horizontal base meeting the roadway surface, and an upright housing perpendicular to the base, having located within it four reflex reflectors of approximately 3 inches in diameter, one reflector above the other, and each of these having a mating reflector opposingly disposed to provide reflectivity for motorists approaching disabled vehicles from either the front or the rear.
Recent federal legislation in the United States and Canada provides for an advance warning device comprising an equilateral triangle, having three sides of approximately two to 3 inches in width, and approximately 17 to 22 inches in length. The width of the individual legs is divided into two segments, one comprising red reflective material, and the other comprising orange fluorescent material; these jointly serving to provide for an internal triangle of orange fluorescent material, and a larger outer triangle of red reflective material. The purpose for so dividing each of the triangle's legs is to provide a reflective component for night time use, and a fluorescent component for daytime use. The red reflective component is designed to utilize either spherical beads or cubed prism retroreflective elements, and the orange fluorescent section is designed to convert ultra-violet radiant energy from the sun into a segment of the visible spectrum to delineate the device for daytime use. The standards for the red reflective section and the orange fluorescent section are in all aspects, except for photometric quality, set forth in the applicable sections of the Society of Automotive Engineers standards. The warning device must be so designed that it is capable of returning, at an observation angle of 0.2.degree. and an entrance angle of 0.degree., 80 candlepower per foot-candle incident upon the device to be measured at 100 feet. At an observation angle of 1.5.degree., and a 0.degree. entrance angle, the unit must yield 0.8 candlepower per incident foot-candle.
An important factor in the legislation, as it has been presented for final approval, is the fact that the device must be capable of withstanding a wind velocity of 40 miles per hour. Notwithstanding the fact that this is generously provided for by virtue of the opening in the center of the triangle, it has proven almost impossible to meet these reqirements without the use of a substantially rugged base comprising very secure means for holding the reflecting device to the base member. An object of this invention is to provide such a base and support combination in unison with a triangular warning flare.
A further object of the invention is to provision for a convenient storage in a motor vehicle, considering fully the possibility that an automobile could sustain very severe frontal or rearend damage in a collision, and at that time a flare would be required. It is impractical to consider storage of these devices in the trunk area, since jamming or distortion of the sheet metal of the body could preclude access to the device. Previous systems have generally comprised a collapsed structure far too large to conveniently store under automobile seats; especially in the case of compact and subcompact vehicles. Thus, a further object of this invention is to provide a structure whereby storage beneath the seat is completely practical.